Between 1963 and 2009, there have been 13 published studies offering empirical evidence on biology fieldwork in schools and colleges in the UK. This paper considers the evidence from these studies relating to work with 16-19 year old students undertaking academic study beyond the compulsory years of schooling; advanced ("A") level. It…

We conducted a series of summer workshops on bioinformatics to increase educators' knowledge of this new field of inquiry with the assumption that their knowledge will, in turn, impact student achievement. The workshops incorporated experiential learning and self-reflection (Loucks-Horsley et al. 1998). Educators demonstrated significant increases…

The planning of adequate control groups is a central aspect of educational research. Didactical studies, however, are often field studies encountering many problems of everyday classroom teaching? Recent research has indicated that teachers and their beliefs have an enormous influence on learning and retention. Taking this line of evidence…

Provides many useful suggestions and cautions for planning and executing a biology field excursion. Specific procedures are outlined for investigating land communities and coastal areas, and a number of follow-up laboratory activities are described. The appendix provides an extensive bibliography with useful comments on the literature. (JR)

Describes techniques for introducing studies of the soil in the early primary grades or in preschool classes. Includes suggestions for observation of soil samples, field trips to examine various soils in situ, and establishing a small garden. (AL)

Introduces a case study on speciation and evolutionary mechanisms. Teaches science process skills as well as natural selection, biological species concepts, basic genetic terminology, and classification. Includes teaching notes and classroom management strategies. (Contains 14 references.) (YDS)

Describes a blindfold botanist project for high school biology students to augment visual recognition of plants and to serve as a challenge to motivate students. (BR)

Describes a freshwater pond study in detail which was done as the biology segment of an interdisciplinary study conference at the Old Railway Pond at National Park. (BR)

Describes the procedures used by a high school biology class in an ecological study related to the degeneration of grasslands. The canopy-coverage method of vegetational analysis was used to compare a low-grade, over-grazed pasture with a nearby high-quality prairie. An interpretation of the results is also presented. (JR)

A field-based exercise which illustrates one aspect of how leaves in multilayered trees take advantage of light microenvironments is presented. Procedures, tree selection and data analysis are discussed. (CW)

This material is one publication of a series of documents available from the Institute for Environmental Education (Cleveland) and consists of a curriculum activities guide to birds, bugs, dogs, and weather and environmental studies. The first edition of this material was prepared by the Documentation Task Force of Project KARE, Philadelphia, and…

Two designs of undergraduate terrestrial ecology and behavior field courses are described and compared. These include using a variety of projects and using a single individual research project. The relative educational benefits of each are considered and the advantages of each type of course are discussed. (Author/CW)

The value and difficulties of long-term ecological monitoring studies undertaken in schools and colleges are reviewed. Rookeries, stream ecology, sand dune succession, fish population, and seed production and survival are presented as examples of successful studies. This is followed by a discussion of points to consider when setting up a long-term…

Describes an activity in which students gather information on a field trip to South Stradbroke Island in Australia and conduct a symposium on whether it would be suitable to build a resort on the island. Students role-play the viewpoints of various special interest groups that would be involved in the controversy. (Author/WRM)